Apparatus for and method of twisting gut or the like



y 1930. G. L. MATTHEWS 1,758,007

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF TWISTING GUT OR THE LIKE Filed Oct. 4, 1926 2 Sheets Shee'c l l I I a f/ E 3 v fyweizfw Guy L. Muff/76:05 1/1777 @5565,

May 13, 1930. G. MATTHEWS APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF TWISTING GUT OR THE LIKE Filed Oct. 4, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 13, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUY L. MATTHEWS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HARRY L. DIEHL APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF TWISTING- GUT OR THE LIKE Application filed October 4, 1928. Serial No. 139,545.

My invention relates to apparatus for twisting gut or the like and has among its other objects the production of apparatus of the kind described which is compact, conven ien-t, durable, eflicient and satisfactory for use wherever found applicable.

A particular object of the invention is to provide improved power driven apparatus for twisting gut.

Another particular object of. the invention is to provide improved portable apparatus of the kind described so that the apparatus may be quickly and easily positioned adjacent posts or the equivalent between which a quantity of gut'is strung.

Still another particular object of the inventionis to provide apparatus of the kind described which reduces manual handling of the gut to a minimum.

It is also a particular object of the invention to provide an improved method of treating gut which is to be manufactured into strings for musical instruments, surgical thread, and the like. T

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shownand' described will be obvious tothose skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

T this end my invent-ion consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described,

and more particularly pointed out in the I claims.

Fig. 4. is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5- is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which the gut istwisted by my improved apparatus; and

Fig.6 is a View of a rack upon whichthe gut is preferably arranged before and after the twisting operation.

a sheave 21.

Referring for the present to Figs.- 1 to 4, inclusive, wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reference character designates in general the frame of the improved machine,the frame 10 preferably comprising a base 11 and a plurality of uprights 12. Mounted upon a platform 14 carried by the uprights l2 is-an electric motor 15 or the equivalent for the purpose. The shaft of the motor 15 is; provided with a sheave 16 which is operatively connected by a belt 17 to a sheave 18 having a surface 19 engageable with a friction ring 20 carried by The sheaves 18 and 21 are rotaab'ly journaled upon a stud shaft 23 which projects from a bracket 25, the bracket- 25 being rigidly secured to a cross bar 26 carried by two of the uprights 12. A belt 28- trained around the sheave 21 is also trained around sheaves 29 and 30 secured to shafts 31 and 82, respectively, rotatably j ournaled in hearing blocks 34 mounted upon the upper ends of the uprights 12. Obviously, when the motor 15 is set in operation and the surface 19 of the sheave 18 is brought into effective engagement with the friction ring 20 the sheaves 29 and 30 will rot-ate and in turn rotate the shafts 31 and 82.

Means is provided for longitudinally displacing the sheave 18 to bring its surface into effective engagement with the friction ring 20, this means preferably comprising a lever 35 pivoted by pin 87 upon an arm 36-formed integral with the bracket/25. The bell crank lever comprises arms 88 and 39, the arm 38 being connected to a foot treadle ll by a link 42. The foot treadle 41 is hinged to the base 11 as at 44. Preferably formed integral with the arm 35 is a cam 4:7 engageable with a button 48 which is seated in a recess 49 formed in the sheave 18 (see Fig. 4). The construction is such that if the lever 35 is angularly displaced in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1) the cam- 47 will engage the button 458 and displace the sheave 18 longitudinally into engagement with the friction ring 20. Unless the foot treadle 4:1 is depressed, a compression spring 52 will normally hold the-lever 35 in the position wherein it is shown in Fig. 1, in which position the cam 47 will not hold the surface 19 in effective engagement with the friction ring 20. The spring 52 is interposed bet-ween a lug 55 formed integral with the arm 39 and a lug 56 formed integral with the aforementioned arm 36. When the bell crank lever 35 occupies the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, a brake pad 58 carried by the arm 39 effectively engages the sheave 21 and prevents rotation thereof.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, one end of each of the shafts 81 and 32 terminates in a hook, the hooks for the shafts 31 and 32 being designated by the reference characters 60 and 61, respectively. When gut is to be twisted, one end of each length of gut is engaged with one of the hooks and the machine is set in operation so that the shafts 31 and 3:2 rotate and cause corresponding rotation of the ends of the gut secured to the hooks.

Prior to the twisting operation, the gut is preferably arranged upon uprights or posts in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6. Thus, I have shown posts 64: and 65 having pins or pegs 66 projecting therefrom. The gut is designated by the reference character 67 The operation of the above described apparatus is substantially as follows: When the gut is to be twisted, loops 69 of string, twine or the equivalent are preferably secured to the ends thereof so that the gut may be strung between the posts 64 and 65, the loops being engaged with the pins 66. The improved twisting machine is preferably positioned adjacent one of the posts 64 and 65. Assuming that the machine is brought into position adjacent the post 64, the ends of two strands of gut 67 are then removed from the post 64: and the loops thereon are engaged with the hooks 60 and 61. Of course, the improved machine is so positioned that the gut will remain substantially taut when the ends thereof are engaged with the hooks. The operator then depresses the foot treadle etl so that the hooks will rotate the ends of the gut secured these to to twist the gut, it being obvious that the gut will be twisted as the other ends thereof are held by the pins 66 upon the post 65. During the twisting operation a whirring noise is made by the gut and the operator can readily determine from the pitch of this noise or the noise of the machine when the gut has been sufficiently twisted. Also, the tension of the gut takes up the slack therein and indicates to the operator that the gut has been sufficiently twisted. The foot treadle 41 is then released and the brake pad 58 engages the shea e 21 to bring the twisting apparatus to a full stop. The gut is then disengaged from the hooks 60 and 61 and again positioned upon the pins 66 of the post 64.

In Fig. 5, I have shown diagrammatically the manner in which two strands of gut are arranged between the hooks 60 and 61 and a pin 66 during the twisting operation. However, it is readily understood that one strand of gut may be arranged between one of the hooks and the pin 66 and that another strand of gut may be arranged between the other hook and another pin 66. In practice, I have found it advantageous to string a plurality of guts between each associated pair of pins 66 and when this is done it is preferable to twist the guts associated with one pair of pins before passing to the next pair of pins.

An advantage of employing my improved apparatus is that it reduces to a minimum the need of manually carrying the gut around the factory, the gut being simply strung between the posts, twisted as many times as necessary and then allowed to dry for the polishing operation, if it is to be polished.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modificationsmaybemadein the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, or uses mentioned.

hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a plurality of pairs of posts, adapted to have gut arranged thereupon, of a portable stand adapted to be operatively positioned with respect to any one of said posts, means rotatably mounted in said stand and engageable with one end of a strand of material having its other end secured to the post paired with the last-mentioned post, and means for rotating said rotatable means.

2. A method of treating gut which comprises stringing a strand of gut between two spaced supports, removing one end of said strand from its support, rotating said end to twist the gut, and then attaching said end to its support to permit the gut to dry while strung between the supports.

3. Apparatus of the kind described comprising a frame, means rotatably mounted in said frame and adapted to operatively engage oneend of a strand of material having its other end secured to an independent support, a clutch member interposed between said rotating means and said first-mentioned means, and a bell crank lever pivoted on said frame, one arm of which carries a cam surface for actuating said clutch member and the other end of which carries brake means for stopping rotation of said first-named means when said clutch member is functionally inoperative.

4. Apparatus of the kind described comprising a frame, means rotatably mounted in said frame and adapted to operatively engage one end of a strand of material having its other end secured to an independent support, a clutch member interposed between said rotating means and said first-mentioned means, a bell crank lever pivoted on said frame, one arm of which carries a cam surface for actuating said clutch member and the other end of which carries brake means for stopping rotation of said first-named means when said clutch member is functionally inoperative, and resilient means for normally maintaining said bell crank lever in such position that the clutch member Will be functionally inoperative.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

GUY L. MATTHEWS. 

